Chapter 107: Omen of the Storm

A mere ten minutes.

The outer perimeter of the mine had already been fully suppressed.

Many of the unlucky ones tried to use the terrain and regroup with their comrades to turn things around, but Master Liu Ge gave them no chance, taking them all prisoner at the first opportunity.

It had to be said, the Sand Team had chosen the timing of their raid very well.

The cadres originally left to hold the mine had rushed back to Huang Tie Town precisely because of the internal chaos, afraid of missing out on the major event of "dismemberment." With the usual top combat power and commander absent, the Hound Team members inside the mine could only rely on those large machines to fight back.

And once the large machines were taken down one by one, the remaining resistance became utterly feeble.

Only a very few Hound Team members, like turtles in a jar, were driven deep into the mine and even into the depths of the mine tunnels, putting up a meaningless last-ditch resistance.

"Has the blocking team found the passage?"

"Found it! Already arranged for Onix to seal it off!"

The channel kept relaying feedback from each squad, interspersed with faint explosions and rumbling.

Baimu could clearly feel the tremors coming from beneath the mine; he understood it was the sign that Master Liu Ge had sent people to seal the mine's secret passages. They either led to some stretch of wilderness, or connected directly to the Hound Team's underground city, or even to the neighboring mine.

They generally wouldn't be activated unless absolutely necessary.

At this point, this mine was completely under Master Liu Ge's control.

"The information team will use the broadcast to tell everyone inside the mine tunnels to stop work and return to the surface as fast as possible."

"Yes!"

The precise orders were relayed down, and within ten minutes, a large number of miners and many humanoid Pokémon emerged from the various pits one after another—the humans alone numbered over a thousand.

At first Baimu watched all this calmly, but soon he furrowed his brow.

Among those miners were not only young adults who looked fully grown, but also children under ten who clearly had no labor capacity, and stooped old folk whose teeth had long since fallen out.

Although he had long heard of the Hound Team's reputation, seeing these scenes with his own eyes still shocked him.

Could stuffing that many people in really improve production efficiency?

Or… did each of them have a daily quota, and failing to meet it meant no food—or simply death?

Slaves had it no worse.

He had thought the Sand Team's environment was rotten enough, but the Hound Team was even worse—truly rotten among the rotten.

At least back when he went to the smelter, he had to be at least twelve years old, and only allowed to work after being confirmed to have a certain capacity for labor—even though fourteen hours of high-intensity toil each day made him feel he wasn't living like a human being.

Looking at it now, the Sand Team was practically kind; beauty really does come from comparison—

Damn it, rotten is rotten.

What's there to compare! Comparing won't make life any better!

He gazed down at the miners below, his eyes narrowing.

And the miners, seeing the Sand Team members and a bunch of ferocious Pokémon surrounding them on all sides, couldn't help but feel panic and tension.

The Hound Team and the Sand Team had fought over territory more than once or twice, and each time plenty of poor wretches like them died from collateral damage.

The prospect of losing their lives made the miners tremble inside, and they instinctively began to clamour.

The voices of over a thousand people quickly turned the mine into a deafening uproar.

"All of you, shut up—!"

The tall, thin cadre Sanghe used the broadcast's enormous volume to force the miners to clamp their hands over their ears and fall silent. "Next, we will take a headcount and temporarily transfer you elsewhere. As long as you cooperate obediently, there will be no danger to your lives!"

"Please do not resist! Think of your families! Think of your lives and your intact limbs! Cooperate obediently and give up resistance, and we can guarantee your safety! If any of your companions are missing and haven't come up to the surface, report it immediately!"

Similar words were repeated over and over.

Under the hypnotic shouts, the miners indeed quieted down considerably.

Standing among the crowd, Baimu's expression was somewhat strange; he felt this operation wasn't quite what he'd imagined.

Hmm…

Was it because the operation was unusually orderly, not matching the impression Baimu had personally experienced of the Sand Team being full of useless trash, scumbags, and freeloaders?

Maybe it was just too smooth—on their side they hadn't suffered any casualties, only some Pokémon that had been injured attacking the large machines, and a few members who had accidentally sustained minor wounds.

The Sand Group was different?

Maybe.

But Baimu felt it was more likely Master Liu Ge's "problem."

Big Brother was fundamentally different from the other cadres. If you called him merciful, he never showed leniency to enemies; if you called him ruthless, he never excessively exploited his underlings, or the merchants and civilians within his territory.

Nor did he constantly manipulate his subordinates about loyalty or run any psychological games on them—everything he did was upright.

He really didn't seem much like an underworld boss.

Of course, Baimu also understood that the purpose of this operation wasn't to raid the mine, but to seize it—the focus was on the latter.

The Hound Team's counterattack was bound to be terrifying.

While Baimu was thinking, his shoulder was suddenly patted by Flobo.

"In a bit, once the outer members come in batches to take over the miners with the machines, the three main squads will be split into many small teams to escort them while retreating back to our mine. Big Brother arranged for us to cover the rear."

"…Got it!"

"Don't be nervous. Being the last to leave doesn't mean we'll face the most enemies. Besides, the Hound Team may not attack our side first—setting two objectives will to some extent split the enemy's focus. Especially at this stage of the Hound Team."

"Understood."

He nodded, quickly switched to the squad channel, and relayed the arrangement to Otsuka and the others.

Otsuka and the others naturally understood the danger and opportunity of covering the rear, and couldn't help but breathe heavily, unable to suppress their nervousness.

Seizing a mine certainly wasn't like a video game—where you just grab it and then don't have to do anything, and the system automatically adds the mine to the Sand Team's roster.

Swallow

The plan Master Liu Ge had given laid out the most basic strategy—the Scorched Earth tactic.

That is, take away every large working machine in the mine, take all the miners and the ore accumulated here, destroy what couldn't be carried off, and leave only an empty shell for the Hound Team.

Although the mine itself won't run away, losing the large-scale mining equipment and multiple batches of labor force would deal an immeasurable blow to the Mad Dog Squad.

The key question is whether the Mad Dog Squad, amid all this turmoil, can restore the mine's production in a short time?

To restore it, they'd have to throw money in, buy new equipment, and rapidly replenish the labor force.

If they can't restore it, they'd probably have to pour even more money in just to keep up with the backer group's fixed quotas on schedule, and they'd also have to assign personnel to guard a mine that's no longer operating.

Not realistic.

This mine would become a major white elephant in the Mad Dog Squad's hands, while for the covetous Quicksand Squad, it would be a place they could take whatever they wanted from.

And to meet the conditions for the transfer—

Master Liu Ge had specifically arranged for several thousand peripheral members to rush out of town through a secret passage in the adjacent Quicksand Squad mine, striving to transfer everything here away in the shortest possible time.

Such a massive movement of personnel certainly couldn't stay completely hidden from the many eyes in Huang Tie Town.

Exposure was inevitable.

It all came down to who moved faster.

Not to mention it wasn't only the Sand Cell in motion—although Master Liu Ge hadn't mentioned it, All Baimu had still gotten a clear picture of the other two cells' movements through Flobo—

The Stone Cell was responsible for preventing the Mad Dog Squad from acting desperately and directly going after territory inside the town, while the Crystal Cell was responsible for extending an olive branch to one of the Mad Dog Squad's leaders, swaying them toward the Quicksand Squad's side and promoting a split within the Mad Dog Squad.

By then, even if the Mad Dog Squad truly intended to reclaim the mine, facing endless troubles, they'd presumably be powerless to do anything.

The most likely outcome would be opening negotiations with the Quicksand Squad to sell the mine for a good "price."

To be honest—

All Baimu didn't think the Quicksand Squad would simply pack up and behave themselves after successfully devouring the Mad Dog Squad's two large mines outside town.

People are greedy, and they'll always push for more.

Once they've taken two mines, what about the remaining three? The Mad Dog Squad's underground city? The Mad Dog Squad's surface territory?

Driven by profit and multiple factors, the Quicksand Squad's current operation would slowly develop to the point of attempting to swallow the entire Mad Dog Squad whole.

As long as the backer group's mineral demands were met, those old masters behind the scenes wouldn't say a word.

It was also a chance to shift the conflicts between the Sand Cell and the Crystal Cell outward.

Additionally, the extra population could solve the Quicksand Squad's problem of insufficient talent.

He suddenly realized the Quicksand Squad was growing in an even more massive direction, filled with danger and opportunity, like an old steamship resolutely sailing into a storm.

As for himself, stockpiling emergency supplies on the ship—should he wait for the storm to pass and the skies to clear before slipping off, or quietly grab a small boat and leave while the storm was raging?

Whichever choice he made, there was no such thing as a hundred-percent safe option.

All Baimu was deeply aware of this.